Re: [tlug] Third World [was: Why Vista Sucks]

["Nguyen Vu Hung" <vuhung16plus+shape@example.com>]

On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Stephen J. Turnbull <stephen@example.com> wrote:
> Nguyen Vu Hung writes:
>   > In Vietnam, Windows is still free despite of the fact that it has joined WTO.
>  This is very risky.
Please don't get me wrong: Windows is still "free" ( cf: Dave's
"Windows is free" ).
98% softwares in Vietnam is pirated, you can buy a Windows XP or an Office 2007
for 20 Yen.

>
>
>   > It is still an open question that whether FOSS like OpenOffice and Linux
>   > are good ( which can be understood as "cheap" by most of the locals ) for
>   > a country like Vietnam.
>
>  If it's good enough for China ....  Also, couple of of developers from
>  Caribbean nations posted to the FSB list a few years ago.  It seems
>  that MSFT executed the old pusher ploy.  Doctors and dentists got used
>  to using pirated Windows ... and then on the one side MSFT put on
>  political pressure and on the other started using reasonably effective
>  technical means, which put those folks in a bind.  They *had* to start
>  paying license fees, which was quite a shock to their finances.
There is a rumor that MS can/will sell Windows OS + Office for the goverment
sector in China or Vietnam with very cheap price. I don't know the
correct number
but it is something like $3 ( three USD ).

By doing so, there will be a chance that the governments will grant
Windows and Office
as national standard OS. The danger is that for the non-government
sectors, we have to pay
the world-wide price. It is a pain in the ass because the average
income in Vietnam is
as low as 10% in comparison to Japan.



-- 
Best Regards,
Nguyen Hung Vu ( Nguyễn Vũ Hưng )
vuhung16plus{remove}@example.com , YIM: vuhung16
Japan through an eye of a gaijin:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vuhung/tags/fav/